The 100 Happy Days Challenge is an online challenge, currently trending through social media, to be happy for 100 days. The challenge may seem time consuming and pointless at first. However, it is not as time consuming as it seems, and the rewarding experience will be worth it.
In this day and age, super busy schedules are the norm. We live from text to text, Facebook status to Facebook status and Tweet to Tweet.  Social media is consuming our lives. As the speed of life increases, the time we have to enjoy the world we live in and those around us decreases. Overall, there is less time to enjoy the moment.
The ability to appreciate the moment, live in the present and fully experience the environment is essential for true happiness. Julia Crossland, an online blogger (juliacrosslandart.blogspot.com) partaking in the challenge, said, “Happiness lurks in the ordinary, and when we start to look for it in the ordinary, we see how glorious our ordinary actually is.”
Taking on the challenge is simple.  Every day, submit a picture of something that made you happy. It can be your pet, seeing an old friend or even the warm cup of tea you had in the morning. Register at the website 100happydays.com, then share your pictures through any platform you would like, such as Facebook or Instagram, with the hashtag #100happydays. You can even come up with your own hashtags!
I decided to try the 100 Happy Days as a fun project for 2014. Generally, I would say I am a happy person. However, with the stress of school and extracurricular activities, it is easy to get lost in my worries and dwell too much on the past or future. I wanted to slow down and appreciate the little things more each day. So far, 100 Happy Days has kept me more in tune with the present and helped me focus on the things that brighten, rather than bring down, my day. Eventually, choosing to notice the things that make me happy simply becomes a habit. Overall, the challenge has helped me form an even more positive outlook on life.
Do this challenge for yourself and not for anyone else. Post pictures of what make YOU happy, not what you think your friends would like to see. Your happiness is your choice and is fully in your hands, so only genuine posts will bring you true satisfaction!
People who have successfully completed the challenge reported that they were often in a better mood.  They also began appreciating the little things that make them happy and overall appreciating their lives more.
Even if your day was not the greatest, you can still post something. The challenge is a simple reminder that no matter what, there will always be beauty in your life.
When I asked Lauren Kim (Jr.) why she liked doing the challenge, she said “I love 100 Happy Days because it makes you really think about one thing that made you happy even if that day totally sucked, so it’s always keeping you on the positive side of things.” Happiness can be found in many places that are often unexpected. Try to find something good in every day; be a part of this uplifting experience.
Written by ZILIN ZHOU
Staff Writer